RIP State of the Union

Not that you asked, but I won't be watching the State of the Union address, tonight.

I do not expect it to reflect the actual state of the Union.

I do not need the aggravation of watching lie after demonstrable lie.

I do not feel compelled to participate in a state-sanctioned gas-lighting event.

I do not concede my mind and soul to the utterances of an evil man, supported and advanced by a party of evil men and women.

Moreover, and more practically, my time is better spent elsewhere. Laundry seems to be the first order of business.

This event is simply marketing and public relations/damage control, period.

I fully expect Trump to toss out a LOT of red meat for the loyalists, making policy proposals that will be both distracting from our core issues, and corrosively divisive. Nothing positive or beneficial to the nation will emerge from the speech.

And, all of MAGA expects the Democrats to buy into this, because the Democrats have ALWAYS bought into it, with "it" being culture war bullshit. And the Democrats buy into the culture war bullshit because their leadership has gladly placed their own balls into the hands of evil money men, in order to secure and protect their political power, and are now totally reliant on the money men for their survival, even if it means the inability to use their own balls freely. Men like Schumer and Jeffries are beholden to special interests whose interests are not in-line with those of the US, and they dare NOT bite the hand that feeds them (and keeps them healthy enough to ignore the needs of the people).

So, watching the SOTU would be an immense waste of time.

I will be glad to eat those words, if, perhaps, Trump drops dead in the middle of it, and will regret that particular life choice. 

Were I a progressive MoC, and chose not to attend, it would be only so I could picket outside with a placard demanding that the Pedo-in-Chief Resign, accompanied by Epstein victims, with signs naming the powerful men and women who victimized them.

Arrest for that would be entirely worth it.

But, for now, laundry.

And, tomorrow, reports of bullshittery and the ham-handed rebuttals thereto.

And after that, waiting for the smoke to clear so people can see their way, again, and we can maintain the opposition to Trump, MAGA, and the GOP, while the Democratic leadership spend PAC money on consultants, and progressives fight the good fight despite them.

Or, another day ending in "y."

Enlarge the House

I just recommended this website on Bluesky. It addresses the crux of our multi-generational political crisis, which is the fact that Congress has been at 435 members for a century, reducing, over time, the voice of the people.

Had it expanded, over time, as it had in the entire previous history of the nation, we would be at perhaps thousands of representatives, and ALL of them FAR more representative of the people.

Consider that, in the course of that time, this nation has been through WW2, Korean War, Red Scare, Jim Crow, Vietnam, Savings and Loan Crisis, ABSCAM, Iran-Contra, Nixon, Tuskegee Experiment, the growth of the military-industrial complex, the mass sell-off of American farmland to foreign and corporate owners, the rise in white nationalism.... Yada yada yada.

But, just consider all the laws, all the policy decisions, that have been made on OUR behalf, and on OUR dime, and in OUR name, while the power of our votes have been slowly chipped away, handed to corporate interests answerable to no one.

We desperately need an enlarged Congress. If only we could get it in time for our 250th birthday.

https://thirty-thousand.org/

Tik Tok Word Block

Tic Tok is very shrewdly discouraging talk of the Epstein files by censoring them, essentially shining a big, carbon arc spotlight on a stage display of sparklers spelling out, "Epstein," in the middle of a row of dancing girls holding placards that spell out, "D-O-N-'-T--L-O-O-K--A-T--T-H-I-S-!" with an AI Lou Rawls lowly crooning, "No no no no, don't look here at thissssss."

As we all would agree, telling the average American they can't have something always stops 'em dead in their tracks, so problem solved.

Sigh.

This is one reason I have some measure of hope: for the most part, the MAGA ecosystem, for all their plotting and conniving, couldn't pour piss out of a boot. Someone, somewhere, always gives the game away in the stupidest fucking way possible (see also: Miller, Stephen: "Plenary Powers of the Executive/Quiet Part Out Loud" and, Bovino, Greg: "I said rough 'em up, not kill them, jackass").

I, for one, am not on Tik Tok, so I don't really care, being an adult.

Stephen Miller

When I was in high school, maybe eleventh grade, we had a kid who, in retrospect, was kind of reminiscent of a young Stephen Miller. While he was never a hissing fascist slug, like Miller, he was similarly a bloviating asshole of unfortunate countenance, with a huge ego and an obvious lust for power.

Tonight I was reminded of him, and his Milleresque qualities. And it hit me: how could, essentially, the same personality, in two people, develop so differently over time? 

I googled that high school comrade several years back, and had a huge problem finding information. See, he had wanted to become a big time newscaster. I swear to Christ, he fucking idolized Bill Bonds (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Bonds). Worshipped him. Seemed to want to actually BE him. It was spooky-hilarious.

But, a big news anchor I did not find him having had become. In fact, I had a hell of a time finding much of anything, at all. I concluded things had not gone his way. Something must have happened to him, which didn't happen to Miller, and it knocked him from his power-lusting trajectory. He was also absolutely focused, like Miller, just not focused on sourcing many millions of body bags. He should have made SOME name for himself. Ego and determination can get a person places their natural talents could never get them, on their own.

Meanwhile, Miller, of whom there is enough old video to observe a true diabolical character arc over time, lands squarely on-target, emerging as the Nazi Nosferatu we all get the shivers from, today.

Ah, but then I recalled a core memory, and it seemed to describe a potential answer.

You see, to my knowledge Stephen Miller did not have what my big-nosed blunderbuss had: introverted, quiet me, driven batshit-insanely weary of this bloviating fathead, standing up at my desk, and telling him directly and loudly, that he was a "self-centered, egotistical megalomaniac."

I think maybe Stephen Miller needed someone to call him a fascist ghoul and a horror at a developmentally-plastic time of personal development. When things can have an impact.

Or, maybe he is just pissed about the fivehead.

Michigan ICE locations for protests

Protests need to block these facilities:

The primary Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Michigan is located at 333 Mt.  Elliott St, Detroit, MI 48207.  This office oversees immigration enforcement and deportation activities for both Michigan and Ohio.  It serves as the main contact point for ICE operations in the state. 

Other Key ICE Locations in Michigan

Grand Rapids Suboffice: A secondary ICE suboffice located in downtown Grand Rapids, handling regional enforcement matters.

North Lake Processing Center: A new 1,800-bed ICE detention facility in Baldwin, Lake County, opened in mid-June 2025.  It is operated by the GEO Group under a federal contract.

Immigration Court: The Detroit Immigration Court is located in the Patrick V. McNamara Federal Building in Detroit and handles all immigration hearings in the state. 

ISAP Offices: Two Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP) offices operate in Detroit and Grand Rapids, managing alternatives to detention for individuals in deportation proceedings. 

Application Support Centers (ASCs): Two ASCs are located in Warren and Kentwood, where individuals provide biometrics (fingerprints, photos) for immigration applications. 

Detention Centers: Five designated ICE detention centers are located in Calhoun, Chippewa, Monroe, St.  Clair, and North Lake counties. 

Contact Information

Detroit Field Office: (313) 771-6601 | Contact via email

North Lake Processing Center Visits: (231) 876-4900

Detainee Locator: Use the ICE Detainee Locator or Vinelink for real-time updates.

We are on the very, very edge, and we all know what is coming.

Worried about a Civil War?

We are already there: the federal government has fired on and killed peaceful civilians exercising their rights under the Constitution that Trump daily drags across his anus.

The winners simply haven't started firing back.

Yet.

We are on the verge of active Civil War, but the war is already underway in planning and testing tactics.

This needs to end, but general protests on highly-visible public streets far from power won't do it.

We need to turn a gun on the economy of fascism.

There are more than enough citizens in this nation who are motivated and free to encircle ICE offices and prevent access.

There are more than enough citizens in this country who are motivated and free to encircle Enterprise and Hilton properties, making it impossible for ICE to make use of their services.

There are more than enough citizens EVEN AT CURRENT PROTESTS to simply encircle ICE and come down on them. Yes, it would be a life threatening thing for one to do with oneself, but the alternative is losing the nation.

If I had the clout, and the know-how, I would begin organizing such actions. But I am painfully ignorant, and by the time I figured it out, we'd be done anyhow.

I want liberal orgs to start organizing highly-specific blockages. Peacefully, unless ICE gets violent, then take each officer down with no additional thought. They knew what they were signing up for. Let them have it.

The way to bring ICE to a standstill is to block their offices, hotels, and car rental places.

Then, using that list of ICE officers, start blockading their homes, starting at the top of the organization. Make it impossible for the head of ICE to get home to eat with his family. Make it a pain for ICE to have to rent from small, local car rental places who will jack up the rates just for them, and cause thousands of hours of research into local rental outfits.

Do this and make the rest of corporate America rethink their devotion to MAGA.

If it doesn't work, a peaceful blockade of Wall Street: no traders in or out until Trump is gone.

There are millions of people in DC and NYC.

This is eminently doable. We just need leaders with a focus on real, tangible results, not leaders willing to accept flimsy negotiation promises as an answer. This admin has a demonstrable memory of two weeks, and will forget any promises they make, even if they meant them.

TL; DR: PEACEFULLY (until the other side gets violent) block ICE offices, the homes of ICE leadership, Wall Street, and the companies with which ICE does business.

But be prepared to get violent; bullies only answer to a boot to the head.

Collapse is coming

All the signs are pointing towards collapse.

Masked, anonymous agents, driving unmarked cars, abducting people off the street without warrants.

This achieves two ends. First, it terrorizes the people. This creates high levels of anxiety and powerlessness: a cowed people is a compliant people.

Second, it invites amateur criminals to adopt masks and other elements of secret police cosplay. There have been reports of masked men trying to pass themselves off as ICE or police.

In recent days, two masked, bulletproof vest-wearing thugs, posing as police, tried breaking into a home in Texas. The homeowner, being a Texan, gunned them down and sent them to St. Peter.

What *I* believe Trump (and most likely, actually Miller) is preparing for, is an armed citizen taking a shot at these masked "ICE" agents. This will be their justification for calling a national emergency and deploying military forces inside the country, against the people.

Personally, I think the best path forward is to do just this, and to keep doing it. Martial law can be declared, but ICE agents still have to roam the open to collect people. Martial law will not stop them from being gunned down.

Of course, this means civil war by the federal government against the people, and lots of death. But, this, I think, will be what finally cleanses this nation. People have a choice: cower and live in fear, or fight and die in power.

It has happened in stages so obvious, even a caveman could see them.

The ICE deployment. Meanwhile, Trumpstein festers in the open.

TIMELINE

The ICE hiring frenzy. Trumpstein trending.

Opening a concentration camp. Trump asks why people are still talking about Trumpstein.

Texas takes up massive gerrymandering. A man throws an italian sub at ICE/Natl Guard troops.

Ghislane Maxwell gets a Trump deal to be moved to a minimum security facility, in exchange for acquiting Trump in a DOJ interview. An LA police officer shoots a citizen nearly point-blank with a rubber bullet.

The National Guard deployed in DC. People are making Trumpstein a loud, central element of their protests.

Which brings us to now: Trump is threatening to deploy the Guard to major, non-MAGA cities. Trumpstein is taking up all the air in the room.

It all points to war on the people. To deny this is criminal.

And what are we to do?

What ARE we to do???

Just do it, Newsome.

Masked, unidentified and unidentifiable goons, invading cities and kidnapping people, are nothing more than criminal goons.

Governors need to get creative with interpretations of state laws applying to official id of officers, kidnapping, terrorism, etc., to arrest these goons and jail them.

Throw them in a cell and build camps to house them, in a tit-for-tat. Hold them in dessert squalor while the cases work their way through the legal system.

Barring governors growing balls and taking action, the only thing to protect us from this scourge is for citizens to take up arms against the goons, themselves. People will die, but some of them will be the goons, and, as we all know, when one goon in a squad drops, the other goons grow cold feet.

I'm looking at you, Newsome. If you want to be president, show us how far you are willing to protect the people from a tyrannical government. Deputize every citizen willing to defend California.

DO. IT.

Defund ICE and DHS, like Bill Kristol says.

I agree with Bill Kristol (a sentiment I never thought I would express): ICE and DHS should be defunded. Furthermore, I feel DHS never should have been created (it was an authoritarian wet dream), and ICE is naught but the American Stasi.

I remember when DHS was created, and I felt then as I feel now, that it would be bad for the nation: we already HAD numerous security agencies, and the only failure of 9/11 was that the sitting president didn't read his daily briefing, on August 6, 2001, that said OBL was planning a hit on America soon. But, we were in the throes of 9/11, and that gave people with authoritarian streaks a headwind and a hard-on for the securitate.

Of course, many years needed to pass before a group of thugs took control of it and ratcheted up the Stalinist aspects, to see what it could REALLY do. And now, here we are, a toad in a pot of hot water, wondering how we came to be boiled alive.

I know I come across as a crotchety windbag, but I was alarmed about things 24 years ago, and found myself distinctly in the minority. Most people shrugged and accepted the creation of a security state as a fait accompli.

I am tired of always being right about how the right wing wants nothing more than to destroy America. But, again, here we are.

This ride is not for sissies.

I figure there are only three ways Trump will ever leave office: natural death, fleeing into exile, or dragged out by patriotic soldiers.

There is no way average people can make it happen BY FORCE: the stasi are too focused on kidnapping and, in all likelihood, spying on people. So, there is no way to form a group to take him down by force. Even if such manifested, he has sycophantic secret service and military thugs with machine guns to protect him.

Perhaps if a large enough crowd assembled outside 1600 Penn Ave, such that a limo cannot exit the grounds, he might catch a clue and attempt to Marine One it the fuck outta dodge to Andrews and then attempt to fly to Russia. My fear is that, were this to transpire, the powers that be would allow it, just to be rid of him, and not be motivated to shoot the fucker out of the clear blue.

I doubt that any military will ever even consider taking him out by force. The brass are ass-kissing pussies who deserve eternal KP duty, with random cycling into latrine cleaning.

With the War on America Bill that just got sent back to the House, I doubt that any Rethuglicans will grow a spine and vote against it, even though each of them will face unholy rage from their constituents, which will lead to their ouster, assuming the GOP allows elections in 2026, which I am about 55% sure will not happen at this point.

2026 is our nation's 250th birthday.

In 1976, I was a second grader making broken glass collages in celebration.

How will we be celebrating next year?

Who will rid me of this meddlesome tyrant?

The Corporatists have been trying to take control of America for a century, at least.

They wanted (and TRIED) to oust FDR, but failed.

They got Reagan in, though, and decided to slow-walk us into post-democracy America.

And we are very nearly there.

Talk about shutting down Social Security is a threat to the nation, body and soul.

I do not apologize for wishing someone would take their second amendment right seriously, and, according to the ravings of the extreme right, defend us from tyranny.

Because tyranny is here, and it is a fat target: either a fat fucking slimeball Trump, or his assistant Stephen Miller, and his huge fivehead.

Those who make peaceful change impossible make violent revolution necessary.

And Trump and Miller need some violent revolution.

Spring springs eternal, eternally springing at Springtime: How I felt some optimism today.

I have little faith in the nation's ability to right it's course, at the moment. Whether you are crestfallen at the utter lack of leadership from Democratic leaders, or despondent at the superhuman ability of Trump to gut the government without any seeming resistance, or feeling despair like all the others that our collective voice is being ignored in most cases, and actively-suppressed, in others.

But I do see a light of hope.

Part of that optimism I have (what, wait, who am I and what did I do with, er, uh... me?) about the nation's immediate future, is that Modern American Gruppenführers, Associated (MAGA) know what Goebbels knew: get the lie out there big, fast, and loud, because time is the enemy, as word gets around about our own Naziing-around.

Well, Stephen Miller and Elon Musk (both descended from a long line of Nazis) and everyone else connected to this Trump admin KNOWS that you have to be quick, fast, and an early-riser to beat the sheer mass of the American people, and the chance that they will catch on to your game.

You do not have time to waste, if you are trying to topple a nation like the US. And every judge's order to turn around deportee planes, and every court order to re-hire federal workers, and every burning Wankpanzer in the news does only one thing: slow down the coup.

Spring stands to demonstrate this, very shortly. I have seen more reports of protests, many staged by constituent groups most-beloved by America, but also most insulted and injured by Trump and MAGA. Today, I saw that veterans were turning out in numbers for their own protests not as a member group, but the core group. And they are emerging in greater numbers as the temperatures (both actual and metaphorical) rise.

Spring is coming. It is when we, as a species, collectively are going insane with cabin fever, and are just waiting for that first good day to get the Hell out of the house, and to keep being out of said house.

Spring is coming. People have been sitting on a growing rage, and are feeling the need to express it, and make catharsis. This makes getting out of the house even more pressing an issue for Americans.

Spring is coming: students will be getting out of school, and the Spring of 2025 will shape them now and for forever: that time it thawed and they went outside to punch Fascism in the face to save the nation (only, now, there will be no culture war separation, but class unity).

Spring is coming.

Spring is coming, and I usually miss the starting gun: that moment, between maybe 4:12 and 5:46 AM, sometime in April, when all the leaf buds explode and we have a canopy, again.

Spring is coming, and the buds will be busting out, all over.

Modern Tips for Health and Happiness: Footy Pajamas.

I really dislike pajamas.

Mostly, it is the legs creeping up while I lay there. Every time I turn over, they ride up another half-inch or so, until it feels like I am wearing knickers.

So, I decided about a month ago that I had a solution: I would wear socks to bed, and tuck the ends of the pant legs of my PJs into them, keeping them in-place.

But then, my shirt would get bunched-up and twisted, so I tucked IT into the PJ bottoms.

And thereupon I realized I had created my own adult-sized footy pajamas, and I was at peace with it.

I think all the world needs footy pajamas.

Zuckerswerves: How We Are Skirting the Facebook Censorship of our hopes for a Trump ending.

What are some metaphors you use to get around Facebook censors, when addressing how Trump should make his final exit from the stage (see, there's one already!)?

Some that I like are:

1. Long drop, sudden stop.

2. Hemp rope ride.

3. Air dancing.

4. Actuarial advancement/acceleration.

5. Needs to be fitted for a hemp necktie.

6. Needs to stand by a window in Russia.

Got any creative ways to express what we are all, in our souls, hoping to manifest in the universe?

Do I at all regret this post in any way, whatsoever?

Not in the ever-loving least, brother.

Play Responsibly

 

On morons and, well, basically this is about MAGAts.

A friend who is a teacher recently posted a picture of science denial fallacies, etc. A really cool reference or instructional tool. I like to see such posts, as I am biased in favor of science and demonstrable facts. But, they also remind me that a lot of people are just stupid. And they like it that way. In fact, they LOVE being dumb as a stump. I have tried for years to try to imagine the mindset behind that, to no avail. It is akin to trying to imagine the concept of infinity, or dividing by zero.

They have had decades to address their own ignorance, and for free, no less! Decades to benefit from the distilled wisdom of over six thousand REAL years, across multiple cultures and traditions, expressed through the best educational system and the freest society in the history of humanity, and, in fact, of the Earth itself.

Yet, they embrace being morons, and double-down when you do so much as LOOK as if you are about to draw the slightest breath in reply to their inconceivably abysmal foolishness.

And, a truly puzzling thing, to me, is that so MANY of them have college degrees, multiple degrees, in fact. And, yet, somehow they have failed to learn a damned thing about LEARNING.

I am more and more amazed, as I get older, that humanity made it this far out of the caves.

What the Majority wants.

Unfortunately, what the majority really wants, in my view, requires abandoning identify politics (current Democratic Party MO) and culture war (current GOP MO) distractions, and focusing on class issues, as it really has become the haves vs. the have nots (particularly in terms of raw political power and government control).

Things like a return to a progressive tax structure such as the ones in place after the Depression and WW2. Such a change would benefit a WHOLE lot of people who now consider themselves to be just temporarily embarrassed millionaires. I certainly believe it would drive economic growth across the board.

And, as I will demand until my final breath, a vast enlargement of the House of Representatives, which, in my view, again, would stand to eliminate most of the issues related to big money in campaigns, as well as reflect a far more fair representation of the American body politic, through mush smaller, human-scale districts.

But, both of these require going cold turkey on power addiction, and on the parts of a lot of politicians. Thus, it stands little chance of happening outside of unprecedented extenuating circumstances.

Silver Linings from my Box o' Wisdom

I was just thinking, as I doom-scrolled the internet, that even though it is pretty dark, these days, there is some cause for optimism.

Front and center is the arcane course through the court system that bogs down attempts at dramatic, extra-congressional changes.

Next, humans, especially the dumb ones, are slow to buy a clue on anything that doesn't fit their personal, "lord-get-me-through-this-day-I-beg-you," narrative. We cling to our personal biases until they, or we, snap in two. Then, reality becomes clear as a bell, and changes can occur.

In this regard, I am, and have always been, optimistic that MAGA voters cannot ALL be brain dead. At some point, some of them are going to recognize that they were taken, as I often say, for chumps. I must assume many of them spent life savings, and then some, supporting Trump, and, now that the pain is hitting home, it must be coalescing in their brains that chumps they indeed were.

Which brings us to another human foible: our pride.

Many of those MAGA who realize they were played are NOT going to take it well. And, they aren't the types to be quiet when they feel burned.

Hell, lots of them are gong to be gun owners, and the only contact they can have with DC is through their reps, who are now refusing to hear them in town halls.

This means lots of shot-up storefront GOP offices.

It is also obvious that Trump isn't meetng a single campaign promise that they repeated for him endlessly all campaign. I dare say that an insulted former supporter is going to be inclined to re-examine what they were told, and stand aghast at it all upon such reflection.

So, a slow system, a slow-to-learn population, and a prideful population that takes being punked pretty badly. What a wonderful combination.

All this, and reminding myself that we cannot ever see the end of the storm from the heart of it. We simply have to remember that storms pass.

Like Winston said: When you are going through Hell, keep going!

I have a feeling MAGA splashback could be a brutal, if entertaining and cathartic, thing. And I think it is coming.

Your mileage may vary, of course, but I am showing rare optimism, so enjoy it while it lasts.

To Hell with MAGA, Friends or Family.

Let me repeat myself: MAGA are unreachable.

They have chosen to be unreachable.

They embrace their unreachability.

They have committed themselves to the embrace of selective ignorance as to their complicity with and/or active engagement in the banalities of workaday evil, the largest example of which is voting for candidates who promise to pay the rich on the savings incurred from denying help to the poor and oppressed.

And I know for a damned fact that many of you are friends with at least one of these people, or related and in contact with them.

I am told it is hard to just turn your back on an old "friend," or a family member. When it comes to bad faith actors, and any embrace of evil, I find it the easiest thing in the world. I don't know why. I just find it easy as falling off a horse to kick someone to the side if they prove to have been acting in bad faith all along.

No matter the thickness of the blood, there is no excuse for supporting those who would have you drown to create elbow room for a rich man in the lifeboat.

People have argued that this is absolutely the wrong approach to take. I argue that they are closing their eyes to the reality and demonstrability of evil, embraced.

Anyone and everyone who voted for Trump in this past election KNEW he was a bad person. If they didn't THAT IS ENTIRELY AND SQUARELY UPON THEM: they have had decades in which to simply be passively open to the best educational system the world has ever seen, and yet have learned not a god damned thing.

Trump wasn't new on-the-scene, either: this was his third presidential campaign, meaning every voter had twelve years to get to know this fascist sonofabitch.

And yet, they chose him over you and what you hold dear.

So people remain connected for what reason?

Studies have shown that people committed to a wrong idea are unlikely to be swayed by demonstrable evidence.

And, time is of the essence.

I figure we have less than a year to stop the nation from failing. The fiscal year ends this Fall, which is when new federal spending levels take effect, and all manner of shit will hit the fan (assuming the fan isn't already shit-encrusted, by then). Certainly, federal funds to states for social programs will take a huge, if not fatal, hit, as states tighten their fiscal belts and scale back or eliminate programs for social good and public health.

And this will be happening at the one-year mark before the midterm elections. There will be great pressure on GOP reps to stay the course, or face real physical threats from MAGA. If the heat gets too hot, do not assume for a fucking second that Trump won't impose martial law and simply postpone elections indefinitely. And the moment he will have to start really acting will be when, in November, people start looking forward to throwing him out of office with the rest of MAGA one year later.

Out of office, to be quite blunt and honest with you all, Trump is a dead man walking.

So, why are you still in contact with people who support him?

Sometimes children require harsh correction, but we embrace them afterwards because they have no agency and knew not what they did.

Adults only learn by falling and hitting their face on a boulder when they make a horrendous error.

Let. The. Fuckers. Learn.

Mere suggestions, for Democratic leaders.

First suggestion: begin the long-delayed transfer of leadership from the corpses to those still living.

We've done it your way long enough.

You cannot win political campaigns in this environment with wordy, policy-thick ads, read by septuagenarians in reading glasses. 

Those leaders must retire to the backbench, and allow more connected politicians to take the lead.

Nothing against you, really. You had your run, but now, you must do what Joe Biden did, after great pressure FROM YOU yourselves (if I may say so): admit that you aren't the ones to continue leading, and turn over the keys to the new members. There are fiery leaders in the House already, and many more in state houses who are on the verge of making the leap to the federal level.

Make way for the new leaders and, please, enjoy retirement.

Second suggestion: use ads like knives, not boxing gloves.

Every Democratic ad, from now until Trump is gone, must involve a logo-like graphic on the chyron, and it must be as crudely offensive to Musk and Trump as possible under FCC regulations.

There are so many to choose from. First to mind is the hacked HUD video, showing Trump kissing and licking Musk's feet. The graphic could switch from a focus on the kissing and licking, to the look on Musk's dumb AI-generated face.

And, you can always just flash images of Musk wearing his shades indoors, a sign of ketamine abuse. In fact, you might flash them, with the caption, "Ketamine abuse? Just asking questions!" Or him at the beach with his fishbelly-white gut hanging out, giving us all snowblindness, switching between images of a rocket exploding or penile implant ads.

You have got to get serious with these clowns. Now is NOT a time for policy wanking. Now is the time to save the nation. It is not the time for old approaches.

They have made it a fistfight, we must make is a knife fight.

Ungentlemanly things will need to be said and done.

Third suggestion: organize progressive "security" groups

The message has been sent, but have you read it? A liberal citizen speaking at a GOP town hall in Idaho was abducted by a private security force without uniforms or other identification.

No one could remember exactly WHO hired them.

Like fuck they didn't know.

They have now officially turned security forces AGAINST YOUR BASE.

It is now demonstrably apparent that liberal voices at town halls need physical protection, as well.

Of course, you cannot just show up and say you are there as security, because that would be laughable.

However, if you have volunteer speakers ready to be escorted by a lawfully-organized security force issued TO them, each individual might go in with two security officers accompanying them.

So, Susie Homemaker, all in gingham and lace, carrying a basket of apples, and all sweet and pure, might enter with a question in mind about Trump/Krasnov cozying up to Russia, and what they have on him. She is escorted to the mic by security, and escorted back to her seat afterwards.

If the locals object, flash the official badges from your organized force and state that THEY made this necessary.

They might need sidearms. Or not.

Legally-issued, of course.

This would be a good progressive billionaire project, also.

***

So, yeah. A few little suggestions.